Last week it was revealed in the “Ulfan Shishi” article that after six years of bitter conflict and a legal battle, the band Ethnics returned to activity with the familiar line-up after the band’s leading creative pair, Zeev Nechama and Tamir Kalisky, reconciled and Kalisky returned to the band after being kicked out of it in 2016. Since then, Ethnics has already managed to release a first song in the new-old line-up, and next month the performances should also begin.
On the occasion of the reunion, which moved the band’s many fans, “Maariv Online” surfers are invited to choose which is the band’s greatest song in all its 33 years of activity.
Desert Bird (1989) – Ethnics’ first big hit that led to her big breakthrough, and introduced the sound that would become associated with her – a combination of pop, electronic and Mediterranean music.
- 2022 elections: all the developments, interpretations, promises and polls | ongoing updates
The Legend of the Sun and the Moon (1990) – A duet by Ethnics and Rita from Festigal 1990. Unusually, Nechama and Kaliski signed here only the melody, the lyrics were written by the late Ehud Menor.
Old Song (1991) – An exciting ballad that won another live performance a few years later, in a version with only piano.
Katrina Masala (1991) – Another ethnics duet with a successful singer, this time Zahava Ben. The meaning of “Katorna Masala” by the way is “when luck returns”, where “Katorna” is a Spanish word and “Masala” is Turkish.
The Fruit Spot (1991) – Another classic hit by Ethnics. Also remember the bizarre event at the 1992 Arad festival, when Shlomi Bracha from Shina imitated Ze’ev Nechama and performed a parody version of the song with the words “Oh farts, you are the most beautiful of women, in front of a pile of planks”.
Strawberries (1992) – Perhaps the most successful and well-known song of Ethnics. Originally a song about a marital relationship, but over the years it also took on the meaning of an anti-war and hopeful song.
Jessica (1993) – Another huge hit, in which Yevgeny Shapovlov was a guest. It is better to forget the follow-up song “Jessica 2”, which was released in 2018 at a time when Kalisky was not part of the band.
She Won’t Come Back (1996) – also called “The Ballad of Amalia and Gal”, a pop-rock song that reminds in its style of the band “Beller” and tells the story of a young manager whose love of his life left for Australia, and he does not give up and waits for her all these years, in vain.
BMW. Black (1998) – a hit in a Mediterranean style, which was influenced by the joint work of Ethniks with Eyal Golan at that time. The rap section is performed by Shalom Assig.
Tomorrow I’m Home (1999) – A ballad that became associated with the struggle for the withdrawal of the IDF from Lebanon, that a year later you found the song did come true.